British man convicted of 2014 murder of Thai woman found dismembered in suitcase

A British man was convicted of murdering a Thai woman whose body was found dismembered in a suitcase and thrown in a river in 2014.

Shane Kenneth Looker, 51, was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court in Thailand on Tuesday for killing a Laxami “Pook” Manochat, a 27-year-old sex worker.

Laxami was last seen leaving a Bangkok bar and entering a hotel with Looker on Nov. 1, 2014. A hotel cleaner told police his hotel room’s bed sheets were covered in blood, and a bellboy said Looker’s suitcase was so heavy that it took two people to carry it.

On Nov. 6, 2014, police discovered Manochat’s body inside Looker’s red suitcase, which was dumped in the Mae Klong River in the province of Kanchanaburi. The suitcase was loaded with stones, and the body was cut into pieces. The DNA of the British man was found under her nails.

The Kanchanaburi Provincial Court issued an arrest warrant for Looker on Jan. 28, 2015, but he had fled to Spain. He was arrested by Spanish authorities in Ibiza in June 2017.

Looker spent years fighting against extradition with his legal team, but he was eventually extradited from Spain and brought back to Thailand in July 2021. He initially said that he “categorically had absolutely nothing to do with this woman’s murder,” but he has since admitted to all charges.

“The defendant is found guilty of charges and sentenced to 16 years in jail but due to his confession, the court reduced his sentence by half to eight years without suspended jail term,” an official at the court said, according to the Bangkok Post.

The court ordered Looker to pay about 10 million baht (approximately $291,715) plus interest to Laxami’s mother and 2 million baht (approximately $58,343) plus interest to Laxami’s daughter.

Featured Image via @MikeMcKay (left), Dailymail (right)

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